1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shredders for destroying articles, such as documents, compact discs, etc.
2. Description of Related Art
Shredders are well known devices for destroying articles, such as paper, documents, compact discs (“CDs”), expired credit cards, etc. Typically, users purchase shredders to destroy sensitive information bearing articles, such as credit card statements with account information, documents containing company trade secrets, etc.
A common type of shredder has a shredder mechanism contained within a housing that is removably mounted atop a container. The shredder mechanism typically has a series of cutter elements that shred articles fed therein and discharge the shredded articles downwardly into the container.
A common frustration of users of shredders is to feed too many papers into the feed throat, only to have the shredder jam after it has started to shred the papers. The present invention endeavors to provide a shredder with a mechanism that prevents too many sheets of paper from being fed into the throat. In particular, the present invention uses a thickness detector and a blocking mechanism configured to block the throat responsive to sensing insertion into the throat of articles having a thickness above a predetermined thickness threshold.